Ikeda Sensei sent the following message to the World Youth General Meeting, which commemorated the 60th anniversary of the start of his journey for worldwide kosen-rufu on Oct. 2, 1960. The Sept. 27 meeting was broadcast live online, followed by a rebroadcast, connecting SGI youth and other members throughout the world. The message was published in the Sept. 28 issue of the Seikyo Shimbun, the Soka Gakkai’s daily newspaper.
I watched the entire event, wholeheartedly applauding your songs and performances, the experiences you recounted and the dreams you shared, young lives connecting across time and distance.
I have engraved in my heart the vow each of you made.
To the performers, staff members and everyone who worked so hard behind the scenes to ensure today’s great success—thank you very much!
Striving with great courage and wisdom, leading the way in the most difficult times—this is the spirit of Soka mentor and disciple. All around the world, our youth and future division[1] members have stood up resolutely with this spirit to confront the challenges of the coronavirus pandemic.
A magnificent new horizon of worldwide kosen-rufu now stretches out before us as we aim toward the Soka Gakkai’s centennial (in 2030).
Each of you young Bodhisattvas of the Earth came into this world to be victorious. You were born to surmount every hardship and to lead your families, friends, loved ones, those in your environment, your fellow citizens and all humanity to happiness and peace.
Seeking and practicing the Mystic Law—the ultimate teaching of respect for the dignity of life—each of you is without question a strong and brilliant sun of courage, a pure and ever-luminous lotus flower of hope. That is why, no matter how dark the times become, no matter how turbulent and corrupt society may be, you who are dedicated to fulfilling your vow will never be defeated.
“Faith for absolute victory”—the conviction that we will win in the end without fail—this is the spirit I have upheld throughout with the heart of a lion king, together with members who made my vow their own. I now entrust that spirit of “faith for absolute victory” to you.
Drawing forth the wisdom and compassion of each person, forging bonds of friendship and building ties of encouragement overflowing with joy—this is the realm of Soka.
Let us forever cherish, protect and expand our beautiful, truly miraculous network of global citizens and make our blue planet shine with peace and security—our lands and the whole world brimming with boundless joy.
As long as I live, I will continue praying for your health, that you continue learning and growing and that you adorn your young lives with happiness and victory. Please make a triumphant song of a great human revolution leading to worldwide kosen-rufu resound throughout the skies of the 21st century.
I conclude this message of congratulations and appreciation by calling out to you: Long live our gathering of Shin’ichi Yamamotos[2] who will usher in the New Human Revolution century!
Thank you! Thank you very much!
References
- The future division comprises members in elementary, junior high and high schools. ↩︎
- Ikeda Sensei appears as the protagonist Shin’ichi Yamamoto in his novel The New Human Revolution, which depicts the great development of the Soka Gakkai and SGI under his leadership. In broader terms, “Shin’ichi Yamamotos” refer to disciples carrying on the vow of the mentor to advance worldwide kosen-rufu. ↩︎
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